OVAE Welcomes Libby Livings-Eassa

Libby Livings-Eassa comes to OVAE for one year from Indian River State College System in Florida where she worked as director for career pathways initiatives. Livings-Eassa came to Florida from the Alabama Community College System six years ago. Since that transition she served as president of the Florida Career Pathways Network, chair of the Occupational and Workforce Commission for Florida community colleges and president of the National Association of Tech Prep Leadership.

Livings-Eassa has an exceptional background in programs of study for secondary and postsecondary students, as well as adult career pathways. She is also a nationally recognized speaker on development and implementation of career pathways and programs of study. At OVAE, she is a member of the Division of Academic and Technical Education in the College and Career Transition Branch and works with the Accountability and Administration Branches, as well as the Division of Adult Education and Literacy.

OVAE Awards Six State Grants to Promote Rigorous Career and Technical Education Programs of Study

Last week OVAE awarded six four-year grants under the Promoting Rigorous Career and Technical Education Programs of Study (POS) Program. The grants made approximately $1,500,000 available for the first year of funding. Funding for years 2 through 4 is subject to the availability of funds and to each grantee meeting the requirements of its grant award. States receiving awards were: Arizona (education); Kansas (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – STEM); Maryland (automotive technology); Montana (construction); Utah (health science); and Wisconsin (manufacturing).

The purpose of the program is to promote and improve state and local development and implementation of rigorous programs of study. The program also will assess the impact of student participation in career and technical education programs of study that: link secondary and postsecondary education; combine academic and career and technical education in a structured sequence of courses; offer students opportunities to earn postsecondary credits for courses taken in high school; and lead to a postsecondary credential, certificate, or degree as outlined in the OVAE Programs of Study Design Framework. More information on programs of study may be found on the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN) site at http://cte.ed.gov.

Reminder of the OVAE Connection Interest in What Is Happening in the Field

OVAE Connection tries to provide you every week with “news you can use.” As stated in our first issue, we recognize that not all news will be usable for each reader. Nevertheless, we try to ensure that each news item has potential utility for at least a segment of our audience. Articles are written by OVAE staff involved in career and technical education; adult education; community colleges; and research, evaluation, technical assistance and dissemination. We want to feature articles that let those in the field know what others in the field are doing that has proven to be of value. Please send us information that others should know about what is working. And we would like your feedback about what is useful and what is not. Please send your suggestions to Peirce.Hammond@ed,gov.Thank you!

Latino Radio Helps Advance Health Literacy

Latino Public Radio (WELH 88.1FM) and Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island unveiled on Oct. 1 the results of their recently completed study on improving health and science literacy in the Latino community. Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier keynoted the summit in Providence, R.I., at which the results were announced. The study was funded by a two-year $138,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a 10-week radio curriculum and measure its effectiveness in increasing the health and science literacy of listeners. Non-English speaking communities are vulnerable to low rates of science and health literacy, and programs addressing science literacy issues may not be tailored to Spanish-speaking audiences. Frequently translation of materials into Spanish does not fully address the cultural needs of the Latino community. Community forums were held to discuss this initiative and further develop the program topics. Surveys after each radio program provided information about how many shows participants actually listened to and gave feedback on the quality of shows, relevance of topics, and success of guest appearances. Results are encouraging and include national implications for enhancing adult education’s relationship with health issues.

ECS Offers Free Civics Resources

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) released a September report that can help states develop policies and curriculum for English literacy/civics education (EL/C). The report, Civics or Citizenship Education Standards and Curriculum Frameworks, highlights selected state standards and curriculum frameworks with links to K—12 civics or citizenship education. ECS also offers a data base of resources to assess civics competencies in civic knowledge, civic thinking, and civic participation at various grade levels.